Invest in a good GUN belt!

This is a discussion on Invest in a good GUN belt! within the Related Gear & Equipment forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Over the years of reading websites like DefensiveCarry.com I have seen many discussions about gun belts and pretty much ignored them. AFter all I had ...

Invest in a good GUN belt!

Over the years of reading websites like DefensiveCarry.com I have seen many discussions about gun belts and pretty much ignored them. AFter all I had a good Levi's belt that I bought at a local clothing store and it seemed to work fine. But over the past several months I had noticed some "slippage" when I was carrying in a Crossbreed Supertuck, which otherwise is a fine holster.
Finally after a few embarrassing moments during a trip to the mall that included sneaking behind a clothing rack to get the belt and holster back in place I decided it was time to take another look at those gun belt posts on this and a few related sites.
I eventually settled on Bullhide Belts (one of this website's sponsors but I am getting nothing in exchange for writing this review). When the belt arrived the other day I could immediately tell the difference in construction and weight compared to the off-the-rack one. This belt is sturdy, well designed and best of all -- it really holds the gun and holster in place! At $65 for a bullhide belt (free shipping) it was just $30 more than what I paid for the Levi's one.
The bottom line is if you're one of those folks who has bypassed those gun belt posts and decided to just get by -- take another look. The belt is JUST AS IMPORTANT as the holster. Pick whatever brand you want, do some shopping online, go to a gun show if you have to look at these belts but definitely do yourself a favor both for comfort and safety and GET A GOOD BELT.

Last edited by Orangeman; July 10th, 2012 at 07:22 PM.
Reason: Took out emoticons!

A good gun belt is as necessary a match to a good holster as a good holster is to a handgun. Save money & be frugal somewhere ELSE. Cancel your premium cable package for a month or two. Get a part time job delivering pizza. Break up with your expensive girlfriend. But please, please, don't pack a cheap holster on a $20 piece of floppy, undetermined animal hide. If you choose to, don't kid yourself. You are NOT prepared for a gunfight. I'd rather carry a mid-grade handgun in good equipment than a Larry Vicker's (Dawson Precision, Night Hawk, Wilson Combat, Les Baer, et al) custom 1911 hanging off a Levi's belt in a cheap Chinese nylon holster. What's your LIFE worth?!?

511 dress belt is a go-to for me as well. It's not the best belt on the planet for many reasons. It does, however, ride comfortably year round, and carries light or heavy rigs well. Durability is marginal and I will replacing it with another of the same soon enough. It is affordable.

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." -Obligatory Founding Father Quote

The only problem I have with this sage bit of advice is that you don't know how much it rings true until after you have the gun belt. I am old enough now to learn from others as opposed to the trial and error method I employed as a younger man. I purchased a wilderness instructor belt almost immediately and it worked well enough until my bullhide belt arrived almost 3 months later. I was shocked at the difference that leather bullhide belt made and echo the testimonies of other posters: bullhide belt FTW.

I ordered mine from 511 last week and it's being delivered today. I'm cheap so I went for the nylon plastic buckle style. Plus it was a closeout. They said it's a TDU belt, whatever that means. The reviews said it worked so I'll give it a shot, no pun intended.